Hormones
by EvaFlack001
Summary: Hayley blames her sudden attraction to Elijah on pregnancy hormones.


**I'm not too sure about this one. I actually started watching The Originals because of a fanfiction I stumbled across by accident and I'm so glad I did. It's a great show and the potential storyline with Elijah and Hayley has me totally intrigued. **

**That said, I'm not sure how well this one flows. I'd appreciate some constructive criticism if people are willing to give it. By constructive, I mean genuine criticism that I can use to improve, not insults! **

**Hormones.**

The first time Hayley meets Elijah Mikaelson, her stomach gives this tiny flutter that makes her a little uneasy, but she puts it down to the miracle baby currently growing inside her and the fact that she's been held hostage for three days by the witches of the Quarter. When he manages to wrangle a deal with Sophie so that she can actually leave the crypt they've been holding her in, Hayley feels the fluttering again as he carefully places his pristine suit jacket around her shoulders.

Maybe it's hormones, she thinks, remembering various women's stories about pregnancy and the havoc it wreaks on normally sensible females.

She blames the hormones again when morning sickness hits. Lying on the bathroom floor with her face pressed against the cool tiles, Hayley wishes that she were anywhere but here, with a thousand year old vampire in a perfectly pressed suit helping her off the floor and into bed and bringing her some cool water and crackers because Rebekah has read somewhere that it's supposed to help. It must be the hormones that causes her stomach to clench dangerously when Elijah gently brushes a strand of hair from her pale face and gives her his signature wry smile.

When Klaus stabs his brother with the dagger, it's as if any good vibes that were in the house are sucked right out of it. Klaus, the sadistic bastard, spends most of his time with Marcel and Rebekah is too intent on finding her brother to worry about Hayley or her welfare.

She blames the hormones for the tears that threaten to spill whenever she thinks about the gap Elijah's absence has left in her.

It's definitely the hormones that make the tears actually spill over when he finally comes home. Hayley stares at him for a second, muttering about being glad to see him in one piece, then bolts for the safety of her own bedroom, hands trembling as she realises that the flutter in her stomach isn't the miracle baby after all. God damn it, she rants silently, why can't life just be simple.

Hormones are strange things, Hayley decides when she is five months along and starting to show. Rebekah finds her standing in front of the mirror, looking at her small bump and tears coursing down her face as she realises that her jeans don't fit anymore and that miracle hybrid baby is definitely a reality. The blonde vampire passes her a tissue without a word and leaves the room. Moments later, Elijah appears and gives her that look he gives her when he is waiting for her to explain herself. When Hayley does so, Elijah simply smiles and gives her one of his fleeting hugs, telling her that she will fit into the jeans again some day soon, but really, jeans with holes in the knee are hardly befitting of a grown woman. The crazy fluttering is back, and her bare arms tingle where he touches them.

At six months pregnant, hormones take on a whole new meaning and Hayley discovers that she may have vampiric tendencies because the sight of Elijah with the top buttons of his shirt undone makes her want to press her lips to the smooth skin of his throat. Mortified by her thoughts, she leaves the room and goes for a walk around the lawns of the big house until she is calm again.

In her eighth month of pregnancy, her stomach has taken on a life of its own and is starting to resemble Everest. Surprisingly, Everest seems to intrigue all three Mikaelson siblings. Rebekah talks to it, crooning nonsense about girly shopping trips and fashion while Elijah looks on with a knowing smile. Even Klaus, who has remained carefully bland throughout her pregnancy, sometimes touches her stomach and seems to get some kick out of feeling their daughter move. Hayley is fairly sure that he'd rather cut out his tongue than admit it.

But it's the feeling of Elijah's big hands pressing gently on her belly and the light that goes on in his dark eyes when the baby kicks that makes her heart beat faster and warmth spread through her. Sometimes she wonders if he knows how he affects her, but he never gives any indication so Hayley decides that the hormones are making her act like a fool.

Hayley has read that childbirth is a gigantic rush of hormones that takes over the body and as she lies in her bedroom with Rebekah on one side of her and Klaus of all people on the other, panting through another brutal contraction, she thinks that this must be true because even through the horrendous pain, Elijah's dark gaze gives her tingles. Outside, a storm is raging and the need to keep her existence secret from Marcel means that she's on her own with just the Original family for backup. Rebekah, bless her, is doing her best to keep calm and utterly failing, but she sticks rigidly to Hayley's side and doesn't even wince when Hayley squeezes her hand hard enough to grind bone against bone

Elijah has appointed himself as the doctor in charge and when Hayley vehemently objects to him going anywhere near the business end of things, he gives her one of those smiles and tells her that he actually obtained a degree in medicine and is licensed to deliver her child. Fast forward a couple of hours and Hayley doesn't care who sees what, she just wants the torture to end.

Finally, Elijah encourages her to push and Hayley's world narrows down to the dark eyes that never leave hers as she brings her daughter into the world. Indignant wails fill the air and Klaus takes a deep, uneven breath as Elijah passes the infant to Hayley and they stare at their daughter. His quiet "Well done, love" makes Hayley smile and they share a moment of understanding before she tentatively offers the tiny, blanket wrapped bundle to him.

Rebekah kisses her cheek enthusiastically and proceeds to badger Klaus to let her hold the baby. Their bickering makes Hayley smile again as she leans tiredly against the pillow. A hand slips into hers and Elijah presses a soft kiss to her forehead once, twice before going to his brother's side to peer at his niece.

Hormones don't end with delivery, Hayley discovers over the next few weeks. Lilianna Rose Mikaelson takes over the house and their lives and Hayley never ceases to be amazed at how one tiny baby can wrap people so completely around her little finger. Rebekah has filled two rooms with baby gifts of clothes and toys and she and Klaus fight constantly over who gets to hold her. Klaus always wins and as he murmurs softly to his small daughter, Hayley can almost see what he was like before his humanity disappeared.

Elijah remains quiet. He adores his niece and often settles Rebekah and Klaus's arguments by simply taking Lily and cradling her against his chest. When she sees the man holding her daughter so gently, Hayley's heart flutters in her chest and she knows that Elijah can hear it and she's sure she's not imagining that his eyes darken slightly as he hands the baby back to her and leaves the room.

When Lily is eight weeks old, the tension has become unbearable and Hayley thinks that she's going slowly mad. She shouldn't feel this way about Elijah, shouldn't long for his fleeting touch while dreading it at the same time because it reminds her of the fact that Klaus could easily kill them both if he knew.

One night, she finally snaps and barks at Elijah when he's trying to volunteer to sit with Lily while she gets some sleep. He looks almost hurt at her tone and she puts a hand on his without thinking and feels the contact all the way to her toes. He looks at her, his eyes almost black, and she reacts on instinct, pressing her lips to his.

Elijah stands still as stone and Hayley's eyes fill with tears as she mutters a mortified apology and turns to leave the nursery. The feel of his hand on her arm stills her.

"I didn't mean to-"

Her whispered words are cut off as he crashes his lips to hers, the heat that has been simmering between them for so long finally blazing and Hayley knows that this is wrong, knows that Klaus won't react well if he finds out but she can't stop it any more than she could stop the tide turning.

Thank God for hormones, she thinks before surrendering totally to Elijah's touch.

**May I also add at this juncture that I actually like Klaus. He's such a bad boy, but has great potential to be an semi decent guy. All reviews gratefully appreciated!**


End file.
